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The Mansion at Bald Hill Wedding

The lush green lawn in Connecticut at The Mansion at Bald Hill stretched out in front of Mary Elizabeth as she made her way to the first look. Her classic, long sleeved wedding dress made that fabric “whosh” sound as she walked along the path. Samantha needed a bit on convincing that Mary Elizabeth was indeed on her way. It was just a bit of a walk.

It was like Samantha had been holding her breath for a long time. Her shoulder slumped. Her cheeks became flushed. Her deep and quick breath inwards was audible as she grabbed Mary Elizabeth’s hand. Here she was! She was about to get married! Two brides ready for the ceremony.

As yet another close and long time friend raised their glass to the couple, kids ran around the wedding venue, and that easy and intimate feeling of a summer wedding settled into the reception. It was beautiful out and the sun was just starting to set late in the evening. After a few gluten free wedding cupcakes, these brides were ready to dance.

A few tries to smash the glass at this Jewish ceremony! The brides couldn’t stop laughing as she kept stomping.

Epic dresses for this same-sex wedding. Don’t you love the contrast between them?

The Mansion at Bald Hill Wedding

(ME speaking about Sammy) — Just one thing??? Impossible! Her smile, her laugh, her humor, her compassion, her honesty, her trustworthiness, her loyalty, her loving nature… the list goes on and on. Wherever Sammy is, I feel at home. She truly is the love of my life, and her whole being is my favorite thing. (Sammy speaking about ME) — Like ME, I am also having difficulty picking just one thing that is my favorite thing. So, I’ll just pick three. One of my favorite things is ME’s sense of humor. She makes me laugh so hard that I cry. Another thing I love is that she lets me take care of her because that is what I do best. She let’s me love her. The third thing that I love is that I get to see a part of ME that only her closest friends and I ever see. ME can be reserved, shy, and may even be perceived as cold by those who don’t know her. But I know that she is the warmest, most loving, funny, and fun person I have ever met.

I Choose You – Sara Bareiles

Our venue was The Mansion at Bald Hill in Woodstock, CT, and it was the perfect place for our rustic and chic outdoor wedding. We live in southwestern CT, where everything is outrageously expensive. Our wedding was on a strict budget because we were paying for it mostly by ourselves, and since M.E grew up in northeastern CT, she knew that the scenery would be beautiful and the prices much more affordable. In the end, we really could not have asked for a better venue. The mansion was elegant, the grounds were pristine, the servers were efficient, the food was delicious, and everything went without a hitch. They were also incredibly accommodating to our request to have all food be gluten free. Sammy is gluten intolerant, and it was a great fear that she would become ill from accidentally ingesting gluten. However, there was no need to worry, as The Mansion at Bald Hill made sure to make all appetizers and all meals gluten free.

We were thrilled by the music and dancing. We knew we had a great DJ (Lady Tita), but we didn’t know just how great. Lady Tita set the perfect, celebratory mood, and played songs that made people want to dance and keep on dancing! We were also pleasantly surprised and pleased by how well our families meshed. Our wedding day was actually the first time Sammy met a lot of M.E.’s family, and vice versa. So many of our guests were literally strangers, and yet everyone meshed as family.

I think Sammy and I were good about setting and keeping realistic expectations. We approached our wedding expecting that, realistically, the day might not be perfect. However, we made a conscious choice to view our wedding as a day to celebrate, no matter what bumps came our way. So, when M.E.’s fake eyelashes were falling off in the middle of a photo shoot, or when a bee got caught under the toule of Sammy’s wedding dress, or when Sammy failed to crush the glass at the end of the ceremony, we didn’t freak out. Instead, we laughed. We laughed and loved every moment. Looking back, those little blips became the very details that we later came to cherish. So, relax, and enjoy the day and each other.